A Fairy Tale Come True
by EviIPaladin
Summary: Blake reflects on her decision to join the White Fang and the last night she had seen her parents. First-person. Less than 2000 words.


**A/N:** Continuing from my list of older stories I wrote and never put up here, I did this one after talking with some friends about Blake's parents. I'm not very confident in writing in first-person, because sometimes it is hard to get across certain subtleties unless the character in question is very open to such things. ANd yet, I still enjoyed writing this and am pretty content with how it came out.

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"Absolutely not!"

I had never been so angry. Were my parents blind? Deaf? Did they not remember or were they simply refusing to see that a great change was coming? "And why not?!"

My mother's normally calm amber eyes betrayed her fury and disappointment. "I will not have my daughter become a… a… a terrorist!"

"It's not terrorism," I angrily asserted. "We're taking back what they stole! We're reclaiming our destiny! We're—"

"We've all heard their propaganda, Blake," my father spoke, his voice barely louder than a whisper but he knew I could hear him fine. I could see his body trembling as he sat in that ugly armchair of his. He was angry.

But my fury was righteous while his was just him being stuck in his old ways. "It's a rallying cry! We sang them together…"

I was astonished as he stood up and looked me dead in the eyes. "Not these ones. These ones scream for blood. For suffering. That is _not_ what I or any of my family will stand for!" His voice grew in volume but I would not stand down. No, if I backed down to him I was nothing but a worthless coward. I would never get accepted into the White Fang if I faltered now.

"That is not your decision to make."

"I am your father! You are sixteen!" He took a deep breath and his voice softened. "You are too young to throw your life away. You are my blood; I want to protect you…"

"And I want to protect the Faunus! All of them! Even you!" My fingers curled into a fist as I seethed. "Even if you are backwards, I'll still fight for your rights! Be grateful."

"Be grateful?!" My mother stepped forward, but my father put himself between her and I. "We are your parents! We've been protesting since before you were born! Do you think killing humans will make it go away? Do you think that bombing schools or… or… or hospitals will make people treat Faunus with respect?!"

_It doesn't matter_, I thought but the words refused to leave my mouth. They remained along with a vile taste.

"The White Fang kill innocents, Blake!"

"There are no innocents," I said, still unsure if I believed these words. "Not amongst humans. They stomp us out like we are vermin. I think it's about time to turn those tables." Even as the smug grin grew on my face, I felt my stomach lurch. I was lying but only because I knew they wouldn't believe me if I told them they were wrong. The White Fang had standards; they only hurt those who hurt Faunus. That's what Adam told me and I knew Adam. I trusted Adam.

My father watched me solemnly as the silence stretched. "What happens…" he began, his voice once again almost silent. "What happens when you have your gun… pressed up against the head of a girl… A girl younger than you… With dreams, hopes, and a mind full of fairy tales… Will you pull the trigger? Will you cut all those dreams down because she doesn't have as many ears or a tail?"

This was the moment of testing. But I couldn't fail. My faith in Adam and the White Fang would not be swayed by the worries of an older generation who did not understand how to create progress. "I'll pull the trigger and give those dreams to a more worthy Faunus child."

I blinked and my mother was past my father. I blinked again and I felt a sting across my face as my mother lashed out. I stopped myself from grabbing my face with the searing pain and embarrassment marking it as I doubled over. I instead pushed myself back to my feet and looked my so-called parents in the eyes. There was worry and fear in them but I no longer cared. They still saw me as small and helpless. They still saw me as just a child. They still wanted to control me. _Like the humans control us_.

I turned and left them. I heard my mother scream and cry my name but I did not slow my pace. My path was righteous. My path was clear. I did not have to walk for long until an old friend was at my side.

"So you're going to enlist?"

I looked at him, standing tall and proud. His visor was a symbol of honour and virtuousness. He fought against our oppressors and so would I. I nodded.

His grin was visible although I still couldn't see his eyes. His bright eyes always twinkled when he smiled. "I knew you were smart. Together, we'll usher in a new age for Faunus. A new age where human oppression is nothing but a bad memory. A mere fairy tale we tell our children."

I waited until I heard Ruby's soft snoring before easing myself away from my team leader. I walked over to the bookcase and put the collection of fairy tales back in it. Looking out at the shattered moon, a sudden memory wormed its way into my sleepy mind.

It was two years today, I recalled. Two years since I had last spoken with my parents and all I had done was infuriate them with my last words. Two years since I had walked out on them to join a new family. Two years since I had sworn to kill a child with hopes and dreams… I looked back at the snoozing brunette and felt pain in my chest. How could they have so accurately described Ruby back then?

I had wanted to run back. To beg for forgiveness. To confess my sins to someone who could free me of the guilt tethered to my soul. But I couldn't. It was too late… I had burned that bridge down. Besides, going back now would risk the White Fang hurting them for my betrayal. If they haven't already…

I turned back to look at my team. They accepted me, despite being humans and my Faunus heritage. My parents had been right, even if they had been wrong.

As I relished the fluctuating silence filled with soft snores and murmurs, I made a decision. I'd take my team to meet my parents, to give them hope. Hope for the Faunus. Hope for humanity. Hope for their daughter, whom they lost two years ago.

We thought she was gone forever. Not at first, however. We thought we'd see her before the night was over. She was headstrong, for she was our daughter, but she was kind. She wasn't the monster that the White Fang was looking for, that much we knew. Even if she said those things…

But that night passed and she did not return. _Maybe one more_, we thought. But another night would pass. And another. And another.

We cried on the fifth night. We cried for the whole night. Our daughter was gone, either dead or working amongst wolves. And the last thing we had done with her was hit her and scream at her. That was the night we knew despair like it was our closest friend.

But after almost two years of heartache and pain, we found hope in the least likely source imaginable. A few months ago, a young man we had grown to loathe almost as much as ourselves appeared at our door with a handful of his lackeys. He threatened us. He broke many of our worldly affects. He beat us black and blue. But we found our hope: Blake had abandoned the White Fang.

She turned her back on the racist terrorists and was out of their grasp. They had no idea where she was. She was free. We were so happy but then we realized that this changed little. Our daughter still hated us. And we could not find it in our hearts to blame her. What kind of parents hit their child when she needed them most?

But we are nothing if not stubborn. We watch the window every night. We never see anything but darkness and disappointment but we will not stop hoping. Hoping that one night, we'll see her again.

And then the impossible happened. She came with three other girls, vibrant and human. Words cannot describe how happy we were. Even now, the happiness clouds our memories of that night but I remember my daughter running into my weak arms, heavy from ever doubting her spirit and kindness. My husband and I were sobbing messes and our daughter took after us well in this case.

"Do you hate me for all these years?" she asked, her voice choked.

I smiled weakly and pet her beautiful ears as I looked deep into her eyes, finding the hopes, dreams, and the love of fairy tales from when she was young. "Absolutely not."


End file.
